Paradigm Shift: New Religious Movements and Quests for Meaning and Community in Contemporary Israel

2010 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 4-22
Author(s):  
Yaakov Ariel
Keyword(s):  
Paradigm Shift ◽  
Israeli Society ◽  
Religious Movements ◽  
Jewish Tradition ◽  
New Religious Movements ◽  
Open Market ◽  
Yom Kippur War ◽  
Yom Kippur ◽  
And Gender

Since the 1970s a growing number of Israelis have moved to seek spiritual fulfillment and communal attachments in new religious movements. The crisis of secular modernist Zionist Israel, which started after the Yom Kippur War in 1973, allowed new religious movements to find a fruitful ground for their activities. Many of these new groups developed within the Jewish tradition, often attracting followers based on different ethnic, political and gender sensitivities. Non-Jewish religious movements have also competed in an increasingly open market of spiritual and communal choices in Israeli society. The groups that have done particularly well are those that do not present "foreign deities" as part of their messages. New religious movements have helped Westernize and democratize Israeli society, turning Israel into a nation where individuals have the freedom to join or create new spiritual communities based on their preferences.

Disaffiliating From the Cult of the Fallen

2017 ◽  
Vol 24 (6) ◽  
pp. 381-389 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maya Lavie-Ajayi
Keyword(s):  
Israeli Society ◽  
Yearly Cycle ◽  
Yom Kippur War ◽  
The Past ◽  
Israeli Defense Force ◽  
The Future ◽  
Yom Kippur

This article is an autoethnographic exploration of how my family lives with the memory of my uncle, who was killed in service as an enlisted soldier of the Israeli Defense Force during the Yom Kippur War (also known as the 1973 Arab–Israeli War). This article considers how the memory of my uncle has been constructed through the yearly national cycle of military and family ceremonies. Participation in military ceremonies of this nature is a way for my family to deal with the intolerable pain of my uncle’s death. Yet, I argue, this yearly cycle of commemoration is part of “the cult of the fallen” at the heart of contemporary Israeli society; a cult which places the death of my uncle as part of the narrative of inevitable, ongoing national conflict, connecting the past and the present and justifying further militarism in the future.

scholarly journals Legitimating New Religiosity in Contemporary Russia

2021 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
pp. 6-35
Author(s):  
Irina Sadovina
Keyword(s):  
Religious Affiliation ◽  
Gender Ideology ◽  
Holistic Medicine ◽  
Religious Movements ◽  
New Religious Movements ◽  
Russian Orthodox ◽  
Medical Claims ◽  
Public Figures ◽  
Alternative Spirituality ◽  
And Gender

Attitudes toward alternative spirituality in Russia are shaped by legislative limitations on religious freedom, the state’s traditionalism, and Russian Orthodox anticultism. Nevertheless, public personalities associated with new religious movements persist and flourish. Oleg Torsunov, popularizer of Vedic Psychology and holistic medicine, is a striking example. Despite ongoing controversies about his religious affiliation, medical claims, and gender ideology, Torsunov continues to attract followers. This article examines why public figures such as Torsunov seem unsinkable in hostile cultural environments. Mapping the heated discursive landscape surrounding Torsunov, I argue that the secret to this resilience is a “legitimation lattice”—the strategy of grounding one’s authority in several sources of legitimacy. Torsunov’s lattice is composed of different interlocked strips: science, Indian spirituality, personal charisma, and common stereotypes. This structure increases the resilience of controversial public figures in two ways: by making their legitimation strategies flexible and by allowing them to emphasize mainstream values as needed.

Mars, G. 55 testing of researcher in 125–6; value Mason, J. 63 of work in 124–6 Maynard, M. 32, 101 Meerabeau, L. 100 Oakley, A. 15, 94, 97 methodologies: autobiography 21; Okely, J. 94, 96; and Callaway, H. 96 collective memory 21; covert Opie, A. 101 17–18, 46–7, 56, 164, 169–70, Owens, D. 100 198–9; desk work/fieldwork balance 57; disengagement 122; Parker, C. 134, 135, 138 formal interviews 170; in-depth Patrick, J. 58 interviews 117; interest in 92–3; Payne, G. et al. 92 non-participant 117; participant Pearson, G. 35, 64 observation 21, 34–6, 39, 137–40, Peritore, N.P. 28 142–4, 170–1; physical danger 3, 8–9, 43, 61–2, 132, qualitative/quantitative 13, 14, 21, 147, 203; in communities under 23, 61–2, 87, 115, 117, 129–30, threat 11; experience of 74–81; and 147, 149; reflexive 12, 16, 56–7, extremism 156, 163; gender 89, 114, 116, 143, 144; symbolic 20 dynamics of 12; and health 11–12; Milgram, S. 17 intimidation/destabilisation 137; Morgan, D. 18, 38, 57 negotiation of 67–8; and Morris, S. 45 participant-observer role 137–40; Mungham, G. 50 participant/researcher sharing of Mykhalovskiy, E. 108 12–13; personal 11–12; preparation for/anticipation of 69–70, 72; National Front 56 reduction in 62–3; at religious New Religious Movements (NRMs) festival 137–42; on the streets 148, 150, 153, 154, 162, 163 10–11; threat of 68; vs psychological New Reproductive Technologies 184–6; and vulnerability of (NRTs) 92 researcher 63–4 nursing home 114–15; as policing 26–7, 40–1; and bouncers 48, alien/unsettling 118; 49, 51; and cult of masculinity 31; contamination/escape from 126–7; danger 26, 27–9, 32; and danger emotional strains in 123–4; initial from above 37–9; enduring emotional responses to 118–23; fieldwork in 29–32; and fear 32, membership issues 119–23; negative 33–7; and gender identity 26, 27, feelings for 126–7; punishment 28, 33–4, 40; and group solidarity strategies 121–2; researcher/staff 27; insider/outsider relationship interaction 119–20; setting of 117; 27–8, 35, 38, 40; and local staff/patient interaction 119, population 34–6; and protectiveness 121–2, 125; structure of 118; and 28–9, 36; research sites 27; seeing

2002 ◽  
pp. 219-219
Keyword(s):  
Nursing Home ◽  
Gender Identity ◽  
Reproductive Technologies ◽  
Religious Movements ◽  
New Religious Movements ◽  
Group Solidarity ◽  
Local Staff ◽  
Physical Danger ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Participant Observer

scholarly journals nexus between church and gender

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Angeline Savala
Keyword(s):  
Early Church ◽  
Religious Movements ◽  
New Religious Movements ◽  
Leadership Roles ◽  
Leadership Positions ◽  
Men And Women ◽  
Church Mission ◽  
The Bible ◽  
And Gender ◽  
The Church

Interface between the Bible and ideas about gender and church mission work in Africa is a phenomenon that calls for discussion within theological forums. Despite both men and women being active in church activities, the early church depicts men as being at the forefront while women quietly participated. Concerning the missionary era, men publicly were the leaders as women followed or privately served as the personal assistant or as administrators. In addition, looking now at the contemporary church, in the traditional (orthodox) churches, the so-called historical or mainstream churches, men take the top leadership roles while women deputize them. However, this position is being challenged by the new religious movements and Christian ministries movements where women are usurping the top leadership positions. This paper therefore seeks to paint a seemingly more balanced account of gender roles that would benefit men and women alike by exploring historical and theological leadership roles and gender in the church.

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